Structure and Functions of Soul in Jainism

Author(s): S C Jain
Publisher: Bharatiya Gyanpith

Page 67

materialism holds that "consciousness is generated from the four material entities when they get transformed into an organism, like the intoxicating power of wine." Matter in its entirety is not the source of consciousness. It is in a particular form of material existence that consciousness appears. Consciousness is thus a novel quality of matter, much distinguished from the material qualities. Sometimes a fine type of matter is held responsible for the generation of consciousness. Joad observes: "Mind is a matter of a very refined and attenuated type, a glow surrounding the brain, a halo round the head." Epicurus also establishes the material origin of the soul on the ground of sense perceptions which show us nothing but material bodies. For him the soul is material and is composed of extremely minute atoms of matter diffused all over the body.3 Thus only a part of the substance of matter becomes the source of consciousness. With Aristotle we see that it is not necessary to isolate any part of matter for the generation of consciousness. For him "the human soul is nothing but the organization of the body. It stands to the body in the relation of form and matter."4 Mc Dougall also observes: "Life is a continuous activity. It may be that it is manifested to us only when matter exists in a peculiar collocation we call protoplasm, just as magnetism is manifested only where certain unusual collocations of matter are formed:"5 Herein we see that emphasis is laid not on a particular type of matter as was done before, but consciousness is held to be dependent upon a form of existence of matter. This view does not aim at drawing a distinction between the conscious and the unconscious types of matter. Matter is, throughout the same, the credit of originating consciousness goes mainly to material collocation and organization. According to this view we shall have to suppose that matter constituting a
1. Mādhavācārya: Sarvadraśana-saṁgraha, P. 2
2. Joad: Workings of Mind, p. 19
3. Cf. Frank Thilly: A History of Philosophy, pp. 90-91 4. W.T. Stace: A Critical History of Philosophy, p. 296 5. Mc Dougall: Modern Materialism, p. 95
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